Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Saturday 28 Apr 2012

1. CABINET 'SPLIT' OVER WELFARE CUTS

The Cabinet is divided over Chancellor George Obsorne's plan to raid £10bn from the welfare budget, Iain Duncan Smith tells The Times. The Work and Pensions Secretary insists that welfare spending is not an “easy target” and said he is opposed to cuts on this scale.

2. US CLAIMS AL QAEDA CORE IS 'GONE'

Al Qaeda's hub in Pakistan is "essentially gone" and the terror network is no longer capable of a 9/11-style attack, say US counterterrorism officials. Meanwhile, a campaign advertisement from Barack Obama suggests that Mitt Romney would not have killed Osama bin Laden.

3. MAN ARRESTED AFTER LONDON SIEGE

The man who sparked a three-hour siege in central London yesterday told terrified workers he wanted to kill them all, an eye-witness reported. The man burst into the Tottenham Court Road office of Advantage HGV training company with canisters strapped to his waist. A 48-year-old man is in custody.

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4. DSK CLAIMS SEX CASE CONSPIRACY

Dominique Strauss-Kahn says political enemies linked to Nicolas Sarkozy orchestrated the sex scandal that saw him accused of assaulting a New York hotel maid. He tells The Guardian that the response to the allegation was "shaped by those with a political agenda" to destroy his presidential ambition.

5. LEVESON DECLINES HUNT REQUEST

Lord Justice Leveson has rejected Jeremy Hunt's request to appear at the Leveson Inquiry early and refused to rule on whether Hunt broke the ministerial code over his handling of News Corporation's bid for BSkyB. An inquiry spokesman said Hunt's request was declined “in the interests of fairness to all”.

6. INTER-FAITH UNION URGED AGAINST GAY REFORM

The Pope's representative in Britain, Archbishop Antonio Mennini, has called on Roman Catholic leaders to unite with their Jewish and Muslim counterparts to oppose gay marriage. He said a united front would be needed as they face a "lengthy and probably difficult campaign" against the reform.

7. CHINA ACTVIST 'IN US EMBASSY'

The China dissident Chen Guangcheng is in the US embassy in Beijing after escaping house arrest, reports claim. The activist, who is blind, scaled a high wall at his house before being driven to Beijing where he is said to be under "US protection". Mr Chen has exposed and campaigned against human rights abuses.

8. BOXING RETURNS TO ALBERT HALL

The Royal Albert Hall will host its first boxing match for 13 years this evening. The venue, once the setting for fights featuring the likes of Muhammad Ali and Sir Henry Cooper, lost its license in 1999 after complaints from local residents. Billy Jo Saunders will face Tony Hill for the vacant Commonwealth middleweight title.

9. HAGUE UPHOLDS CANNABIS CAFE CURB

A judge at The Hague has upheld a new law to ban foreign tourists from entering cannabis cafes in the Netherlands. Concern over cross-border crime and tourists visiting the Netherlands only to use drugs led to the ban. Cafe owners have opposed the plan, one saying it will "cost me 90% of my turnover".

10. GUARDIOLA DENIES CHELSEA LINK

Pep Guardiola has distanced himself from Chelsea after he announced he will leave Barcelona at the end of the season. Insisting he is to take a sabbatical from the game, he said: "I have never met with Roman Abramovich nor any Chelsea representative, I have always respected this club."